PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY GRANT FUNDING BEING DISPERSED TO LOCAL BUSINESSES WEEKLY
Pepco and BGE Contribute Grant Funding to Support Unprecedented Demand for Small Business Recovery Assistance
The Prince George’s County Business Recovery Initiative (BRI) has reached the halfway point in approvals. The BRI is the $20 million grant program set up by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and the County Council to support Prince George’s County businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Economic Development Corporation and FSC First work feverishly to review, underwrite and approve the more than 900 applications, more than $10.6 million has already been approved, with over $5 million already in the accounts of the local business community.
“In implementing the Prince George's County COVID-19 Business Recovery Initiative (BRI), the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation and FSC First have witnessed how important cash grants are to help our business community keep afloat during this economic crisis,” said David Iannucci, President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation. “We are extremely grateful to our County partners, along with Pepco Holdings and BGE for their concern and generous contributions to our business community. Each extra dollar helps sustain a company for another day.”
County efforts to support the local business community have been enhanced thanks to generous grant contributions from Pepco Holdings and Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE). As part of the company’s ongoing support for communities and small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pepco Holdings provided $250,000 in grant funding and BGE provided $65,000 in grant funding to Prince George’s County to supplement its existing small business recovery programs, helping to meet the unprecedented demand for financial assistance during the pandemic. Collectively, the additional $315,000 will be utilized to bring more focused wrap-around services to County businesses, helping them to survive and thrive post-COVID-19.
“As a result of evaluating the COVID-19 impacted businesses who submitted grant applications for funding, it has become increasingly apparent that the need of our local, small and minority business owners is much greater than access to capital,” said Shelly Gross-Wade, President and CEO of FSC First. “Therefore, we are in the process of identifying additional resources and developing complimentary wrap-around technical assistance to assist in their efforts to pivot to a sustainable business model, as necessary.”
Most of the 915 BRI applications have come from industry sectors including hospitality, retail, Construction trades, and professional services such as legal and accounting. There are also a large number of health and wellness and hair care applicants. A further breakdown of the applicants revealed that 71% are minority-owned businesses, 41% are women-owned, 5% are veteran-owned, and 5% are Latino owned. County-based businesses comprised 53% of the applicants and 27% are MBE Certified.
While the filing deadline for applications for funding closed on May 29th, all submitted applications are still being reviewed and grant funds are being wired on a weekly basis. A formal announcement about the complimentary technical assistance programs will be made in early July 2020. Applicants interested in learning the status of their applications are encouraged to email PGCCovidRelief@co.pg.md.us.